Devon is known for great horses and riders, including a long list of Olympians, national champions, and international level competitors. New names are added to those ranks every year, including some very young ones.

This summer, 13-year-old Caroline Blank of Devon placed 5th over all in the Green Pony Hunter division at the National Pony Championships in Lexington, Ky., as well as being named champion owner/rider of the Large Green Ponies. She and her pony, Coldbrook’s Catch A Wave, also are in second place in the national points standings and leading the zone composed of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

Blank was the top finisher out of four girls, all going into eighth grade at Valley Forge Middle School who competed at the Pony Finals this year. All entries had to earn their way into the show by accumulating points at recognized shows this year. Just qualifying for the Pony Finals is a challenge.

“That’s something I dreamed about all the time. I never thought it would really end up as it did,” Blank said. “I was always thinking how cool it would be to have just one ribbon and I ended up with four.”

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Being a green pony has nothing to do with color. Ponies are considered green because they are in their first year of competition at recognized shows. Blank’s pony, know around the barn at Ty, had very little experience when he was purchased for her three years ago.

“We bought him knowing that he didn’t really have much training at all and we figured I was ready to do that. There’s no better way to move up than with your pony,” Blank said.

Blank started riding when she was just 4. No one else in her family has riding experience, so she has come into the world of horse showing without the network of contacts that other young riders start with.

LResponsibility and the value of hard work are lessons learned along the road to the top levels of riding.

“I’ve learned that you can’t just buy what you want and go out there and win. You have to be dedicated and work for it - you have to learn how to lose so you can appreciate winning,” Blank said.

Blank’s trainer is Holly Barnhard of The Farm. “She’s a very good student,” Barnhard said. “It’s a nice thing to see the kids bloom and move on to the next level.”

Blank was leasing a pony to ride and show, but wanted one of her own to work with. Her mother found Ty advertised for sale on the Internet three years ago. “I loved him from the beginning,” Blank said.

Learning to work with her pony has also been an invaluable experience for Blank.

“He has a mind of his own and so just becoming friends with him is something that’s so amazing. We’ve become so close, he’s like my brother,” she said of her pony. “He’s just a really great guy. He loves people, he’s just so sweet and he knows what he’s doing. He knows he’s supposed to go to shows and do his job right.”

As close as Blank has become to Ty and in spite of how successful she has been with him, she knows that she is still growing and the time to move on to a horse is coming very soon.

Even though the Pony Finals are over, Ty remains eligible to compete in the Green Pony division until the end of this show year in December and Blank will continue to show him.

“I have a goal of top 10 in the nation and first in the zone,” she said. “This winter we probably will take a break and start looking for horses for me.”